WASHINGTON • Mr Donald Trump has said the newly elected mayor of London would be an "exception" to his proposed ban on Muslims travelling to the United States, the New York Times has reported.

The US presidential hopeful said he was happy to see Mr Sadiq Khan elected, the Times reported. "You lead by example, always lead by example. If he does a good job... that would be a terrific thing."

Mr Trump put forth the idea of the ban after attacks by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in Paris and California last year. His Democratic rivals, Republican presidential opponents as well as Muslim and human rights groups condemned the proposal as divisive, counterproductive and contrary to American values.

Because of his faith, Mr Khan had expressed concern that he would not be able to visit the US if Mr Trump were elected.

In an interview with Time magazine, Mr Khan said he wanted to go to the US to see the interesting programmes the mayors of New York and Chicago were implementing.

"If Donald Trump becomes the president I'll be stopped from going there by virtue of my faith, which means I can't engage with American mayors and swop ideas."

Mr Trump has also backtracked on his remarks about raising taxes on wealthy Americans, saying the rich might simply get a smaller tax cut than he had proposed.

REUTERS